Brache hat-trick sets up Force win

Outscoring the tournament newcomers by six tries to four the Force ended a seven-match losing streak and move above the Japanese franchise on the bottom end of the tournament standings.

To their credit the Sunwolves, completely outplayed in the first half and trailing 5-26 at the half-time break, they never gave up and scored some delightful second-half tries.

But ultimately the Force were the better team by some distance and thoroughly deserved their win.

The Sunwolves, who posted a historic first victory in the Southern Hemisphere's premier competition (outside Tests) against Argentina's Jaguares in their last outing, burst from the blocks with a try from Akihito Yamada in the opening moments.

But from the restart a sharp interception from Brache left him an easy run-in, before a spectacular try after a slick move and another bulldozing finish gave the wing his hat-trick inside 20 minutes.

The Force, who had won just one of their previous nine matches, never looked back and further tries from Brynard Stander, Ben McCalman and Angus Cottrell secured a second win of the season for the Perth-based visitors.

"Obviously it wasn't the start we were after but the way we rebounded was superb," said Force captain Matt Hodgson after his side snapped a seven-game losing run.

"I asked the team to be tough in those moments and I was happy we got the momentum back."

Trailing after a low-energy first half, the Sunwolves awoke from their slumber following the break with Samoan flyhalf Tusi Pisi and Kiwi centre Derek Carpenter crashing over.

Yamada, who failed to make an impact at the Force last season, grabbed a late second – his seventh try of the season – to cap an impressive return from injury and deny the Australians a bonus point.

"When their tails are up, they're hard to defend against," Hodgson said of the Japanese expansion side.

"I was just rapt we got away with a win."

However, a plucky second-half display proved scant consolation for Sunwolves captain Shota Horie.

"We started well but then we started giving away penalties and got pushed back," he shrugged as Sunwolves players posed for photographs with Japanese fans.

"We need to be more aggressive in enemy territory. There's a lot of things we have to go away and think about. It's a good lesson for the future," Horie added.

The Sunwolves have endured a torrid first season in Super Rugby, hitting rock bottom in last month's 92-17 humiliation by South Africa's Cheetahs before ending their own seven-match losing skid against the Jaguares.

.Man of the match: Riaan Viljoen had some good moments and a couple of shockers, but was instrumental in much of what was good about the Sunwolves on attack – including the opening try. Akihito Yamada showed his finishing ability and was rewarded with a brace of tries. Tusi Pisi, despite his erratic goal-kicking, Ed Quirk and Liaki Moli also had admirable performances. You can always count on Ben McCalman and Matt Hodgson to put their bodies on the line, while Brynard Stander also made the best of a rare start. However, the American-born, South African raised Western Force wing Marcel Brache produced a blinder on attack and wins our award.

The scorers:

For the Sunwolves:

Tries: Yamada 2, Pisi, Carpenter

Con: Tamura

For the Western Force:

Tries: Brache 3, Stander, McCalman, Cottrell

Cons: Prior 4, Grant

Teams:

Sunwolves: 15 Riaan Viljoen, 14 John Stewart, 13 Derek Carpenter, 12 Harumichi Tatekawa, 11 Akihito Yamada, 10 Tusi Pisi, 9 Kaito Shigeno, 8 Ed Quirk, 7 Andrew Durutalo, 6 Liaki Moli, 5 Faatiga Lemalu, 4 Hitoshi Ono, 3 Shinnosuke Kakinaga, 2, Shota Horie (captain), 1 Masataka Mikami.

Replacements: 16 Takeshi Kizu, 17 Ziun Gu, 18 Takuma Asahara, 19 Yoshiya Hosoda, 20 Taiyo Ando, 21 Atsushi Hiwasa, 22 Yu Tamura, 23 Mifiposeti Paea.

Western Force: 15 Dane Haylett-Petty, 14 Marcel Brache, 13 Solomoni Rasolea, 12 Kyle Godwin, 11 Luke Morahan, 10 Ian Prior, 9 Alby Mathewson, 8 Ben McCalman, 7 Matt Hodgson (captain), 6 Brynard Stander, 5 Adam Coleman, 4 Ross Haylett-Petty, 3 Guy Millar, 2 Harry Scoble, 1 Francois van Wyk.

Replacements: 16 Anaru Rangi, 17 Chris Heiberg, 18 Tetera Faulkner, 19 Sitiveni Mafi, 20 Angus Cottrell, 21 Ryan Louwrens, 22 Peter Grant, 23 Semisi Masirewa.

Referee: Mike Fraser

Assistant referees: Paul Williams, Aki Aso

TMO: Takashi Hareda